


coffee, rifts, and college

by a_arc



Series: coffee, rifts, and college [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: I'm sorry already, Modern Girl in Thedas, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Teenage Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Useless Main Character, a whole hoard of ocs, let's see where this goes, mostly canon, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7826341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_arc/pseuds/a_arc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Luca wanted to do was pass her classes with half decent grades, work enough hours to keep her apartment, and maybe get that internship. Ending up in Thedas trying not to die via demon or angry Seeker was not an expected (or welcome) alternative. </p><p>My take on the Modern Girl in Thedas trope, also known as 'what if the main character was actually useless.'<br/>>Non-inquisitor OFC<br/>>no romance with OFC<br/>>third person POV</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. maybe walk away from the green glowy thing

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, there's already too many of these. I couldn't help myself.  
> Characters and relationships will be added to the tags as they show up
> 
> and so follows the tale of Lucas Armistead, whose idea of rebellion is moving out at 18 and changing her name, not chasing the Inquisitor around Fereldan and Orlais as he tries to put Thedas back together.

Luca sighed as the bell above the door chimed and glanced up from the table she was wiping down. A customer stumbled in, chased by a gust of chilly November air. He looked around, almost warily, clutching a briefcase to his chest. 

 

Luca followed his eyes to the empty till and sighed again. Her colleague was most likely in the back, playing on his phone or sleeping on the bags of coffee beans in storage. Leaving the gritty rag on the table, Luca adjusted her apron and wandered back behind the counter.

 

“Welcome to Waterfront Cafe and Bakery,” she with a smile and more cheer than she felt at the moment, “What can I get for you today?” 

 

The man approached the display case full of baked goods beside the register, and paused to examine it. Luca waited with a false smile as the man glanced back between the leftover pastries. Her mind began to wander after the fourth time he changed his mind, and she found her eyes drawn to the clock, 5:55 PM. A few more minutes and her shift would be over. 

 

She was dragged from her thoughts as the man spoke up. “Sorry,” she said, “Can you repeat that?”

 

He blinked, “Just that,” he said, pointing the last blueberry muffin. “And maybe a steamed milk?” 

 

“Sure,” She replied, stepping back to grab his order. He rather reminded her of a rat, she thought as he dug through his pockets for few crumpled bills. Beady eyes, pinched features, nervous aura. She handed over his drink and a paper bag with his muffin, pausing to straighten and count his money before shoving it in the register. 

 

“Have a nice day,” she muttered to his already retreating back. She sighed again, this time in relief, as her phone beeped with the alert that her shift was over. On her way past, she grabbed her bag from the hook on the wall and briefly paused to tug off her apron. 

 

The backroom door was still firmly shut, so she gave it a few hard thumps as she walked by.  “My shift’s over, I’m going home,” she shouted to the empty cafe, hoping her coworker would hear. If there was a response from inside, she didn’t hear it.

 

Luca pulled the colorful door open. The bell was much more pleasing now that she was leaving. Ducking around the back of the cafe, it was only a short walk to her apartment stairs about a block down. After fumbling with her keys for a moment, she let herself into the building and headed for her familiar door. 

 

Her rent was a bit steep- she might need to pick up a few more hours at the cafe in the next few months. For now, it was perfect. The apartment was on the bad side of ‘cozy’ and sometimes felt cluttered, but it was close to the cafe and only a half an hour’s walk to her campus. The view was nice too, on a good day she could see the bay if she squinted. 

 

She shoved her door closed with a foot and hung her bag on the back of a chair as she passed it. The couch was just far enough away from the wall for her to scoot behind it and open the curtains. It was almost sunset, but it would probably be an hour or two before it was completely dark. 

 

Perfect, she thought, her mind wandering to the sketches she had to complete by Wednesday for her graphic design class. If she hurried, she could probably finish at least two of four at the local park before it got too dark. 

 

She eyed her laptop as she passed it, thinking about the new games she’d purchased in the latest Steam sale. Later tonight, she promised herself as she pulled the sketchbook she used for class out of the mess on her table. Luca grabbed a few mechanical pencils out of the mess too, it couldn’t hurt.

 

She dumped her items in her bag, shrugged on her coat, and slung the bag over her shoulder. It was made of black leather- probably one of the nicer things she owned. Grabbing her keys and phone off the counter, she ran through her mental checklist.

 

Sketchbook,  _ check. _ Extra pencils,  _ check.  _ Phone and Headphones,  _ check.  _ Keys,  _ check.  _ Emergency phone charger,  _ check.  _ Inhaler,  _ check.  _ She also had her journal, gum, sunglasses, and a graph paper notebook for one of her classes  that she hadn’t bothered to dump on the table before leaving. 

 

With a promise to her laptop and the leftover chicken in the fridge to return shortly, she ducked out the door and down the stairs to the street below. 

 

She pulled her coat tighter as a breeze swept down the street, carrying a few crumples pieces of litter with it. Even after living in the city for a year and a half, the overwhelming odor of car fumes and fish still threatened to make her eyes water. It wasn’t enough for her to miss the midwest.

 

It only took her about fifteen minutes to reach the park, a half-block strip of grass with an interesting fountain and a few mid sized trees. She checked one of the benches near the fountain thoroughly for spiders before settling down and pulling out her sketchbook.  

 

By the time the streetlights flickered on, Luca had finished a neat drawing of the fountain, a sketchy rendering of a line of trees and a few rough concept sketches of her favorite videogame characters.  She flipped her sketchbook closed after finishing the feathers on one of Anders’ pauldrons and placed it back into her bag. 

 

She flexed her cold fingers as she looked around. The sun was mostly down, and fog was beginning to roll across the distant bay. Luca rolled her shoulders and set off towards her apartment at a brisk walk, feeling slightly nervous now that it was quickly getting dark.

 

Pulling out her phone to calm herself down, she scrolled through her school email. Mostly general announcements from teachers, though there was one from her lab partner. She told herself she’d respond to it after dinner and switched to her message app. Three new texts.

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Heyyy Armistead, the crew’s going for drinks on friday, u wanna come?

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Probs just gonna be the four of us, grant and his boyfriend are doing their own thing

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

nvm, grant and dominic will be there too

 

Her pace slowed as she started a mental debate. It would be nice to hang with her friends for an evening, but Emily was pretty irritating when she got drunk. There was also that paper she needed to finish for class. With an amused huff, she made up her mind and sped up again. 

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: Finn Williams]**

Ugh fine, but you owe me an evening of dragon age and mass effect

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: Finn Williams]**

Also you're driving me home

 

She shoved her phone back in her pocket as she darted across an empty street. The alley she sometimes used as a shortcut was right up ahead. When she wasn’t too nervous to use it, it saved her about five minutes of walking. 

 

Tonight she decided use it, even if it was nearly dark. The desire to be home quickly, as well as the thought of the chicken and rice waiting in her fridge won out over her anxiety. Maybe she’d even get in a few hours of Mass Effect of Skyrim. She paused when she reached the alley mouth, noticing what looked like a faint light from under one of the dumpsters. She felt her anxiety spike.

 

A few steps forward revealed it was indeed a light. It was bright enough to give the trashbags and damp cement a sickly green sheen. Her brows drew together in a frown, but she couldn’t think of a good reason for it to be there. Too bright for glowsticks, nowhere to plug in christmas lights.

 

She jumped as her phone buzzed, startling her from her thoughts. Fumbled for a moment, she pulled the offending device from her pocket and tried to calm her racing heart. Squinting momentarily at the brightness, she unlocked it to a new text. 

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

make it a star wars marathon and youve got yourself a deal

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: Finn Williams]**

I’m gonna hold you to that

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: Finn Williams]**

See you friday

 

She found herself smiling as she shoved her phone back in her pocket, though the smile quickly dropped when she realized the light had grown brighter. It was weird, too weird for her to deal with right now. She spun on her heel and hurried down the block, choosing an extra five minutes of walking over the weird green light. 

 

The painted waves of the Waterfront Cafe facade stood out as she passed it. Using glow in the dark paint was a good idea, she thought, smiling at the memory of painting it earlier that year. She felt her heartrate begin to slow at the sight of familiar scenery. Distracted and lost in thought, she wasn’t as careful as she should have been and an uneven bit of cement caught her boot as she rounded the corner. 

 

She fell with a curse, catching herself on her palms and knees. Scowling when she felt dampness soak through the knees of her jeans, she pushed herself up and brushed off her palms the best she could. The gritty dampness made her feel a bit sick. Pushing her short fringe back into place, she paused. Hand still tangled in her dark hair, Luca glanced around at the alley.

 

It was too clean, she decided, when she couldn’t pinpoint why it felt so off. There has been litter and a couple of trashbags lining the walls this morning, and now there wasn’t. Even the old stack of newspapers by the dumpster was missing.

 

It was a little too convenient, she’d been complaining about the mess to the landlord for months and she’d gotten no response besides ‘clean it yourself.’ Perhaps one of her neighbors had gotten fed up as well. 

 

Unsettled, she slunk over to the stairs leading to her second floor apartment. Urban legends and creepy supernatural occcurances she’d read about filled her mind. A flicker of green and the sharp smell of ozone was all the warning she got before her foot touched down on, well, nothing. 

 

Expecting to step on a stair, Luca flailed forward with a shout and tumbled into darkness that was oddly green.  _ What the hell?  _ She thought, confusion momentarily pausing her thought process. Another, this time brighter, flash of green and she tumbled to halt on rough stone.

 

This wasn’t a flight of stairs or the alley. The stone was too uneven to be cement and it didn’t smell like car exhaust or fish. Instead she could smell something acrid, most likely smoke. Fear began to clog her throat, she hoped nothing had exploded. Luca was rather attached to her apartment, after all. 

 

Maybe this was a coma dream, she rationalized. She could’ve fallen and hit her head on the stairs or something. A feeling similar to panic flared in her chest when she realized she was currently too weak to push herself off the stone. Black crept along the edges of her vision.

  
_ Was this what passing out felt like?  _ Luca didn’t think she’d ever passed out before, aside from after receiving anesthesia at the dentist’s office. She thought she heard shouting voices, but unconsciousness overwhelmed her before she could be sure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay let's be real this is a shameless self insert  
> it's a guilty pleasure
> 
> I promise we actually get to Thedas next chapter
> 
> let me know if you guys want anything to happen, idk  
> there probably isn't going to be any romance with Luca, so don't worry


	2. so, uhh, what happens now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay look, Luca was expecting this to be different from the game, that's obviously a given. However, that is definitely not a good enough reason for everyone to be so damn scary.
> 
> She would also like her phone and bag back thank you very much. And better clothing- Haven is _cold, damnit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look man, Luca is a useless little fucker you were warned in advance.
> 
> turns out the intro is as boring to write as it is to play for the millionth time. timeskips are my friend, and i will use them liberally
> 
> also spoilers for trespasser. you know which ones.
> 
> i will check this for typos in the morning. it is 2 am. i don't care enough right now.

When Luca awoke, it was to damp stone and stagnant air. She blinked muzzily as she flexed her stinging palms, her thoughts stalling as she noticed the chill soaking into her shoulder and hip. She blinked a few times to clear her vision.

 

Roughly cut grey stones greeted her, along with a few patches of slimy moss. Water dripped somewhere in the distance. Confusion pooled in her stomach and being mindful of the throbbing behind her eyes, she lifted her head off the ground.

 

She was greeted by iron bars, dark and rusted. Behind her, she noticed a tiny window that let in a faintly green tinted stream of light. It reminded her of the light in the alley, and she felt her apprehension grow.

 

Luca rolled onto her stomach, mindful of the chill seeping through her unzipped jacket, and pushed herself onto her knees. Her dark jeans were splattered with what looked like mud or ash and were damp enough to stick to her skin.

 

Taking a deep breath, she mentally steadied herself and looked around her- cell? Yes, she was definitely in a cell. The hallway was too dim to see much, besides multiple sets of matching iron bars. She guessed that there was about four other cells, though they all looked empty.

 

No, that wasn’t correct- looking closer at the cell across from her, she could see a hunched over form. The torches were too dim - _hold on, torches?_ She leaned forward to looked closer at the hallway, placing a hand on the slimy stone for balance. All she could see was dark stone with worn carvings, torches, and a heavy wooden door inlaid with metal.

 

It looked medieval. How did she get here? The last thing Luca remembered was tripping on the stairs to her apartment and eerie green light. She didn’t feel hungover, her thoughts felt clear and not foggy, so she doubted she’d been drugged.

 

Chains scraping over stone snapped her focus back to the cell across from her. The other prisoner groaned and hunched over further as green light crackled over their hand. She could see the manacles in the glow, and faintly wondered why she didn’t have her own. Not that she wanted them of course.

 

She frowned, peered closer as the other prisoner. She still couldn’t make anything out, besides the fact that they had shoulder-length hair of an indistinguishable color. The scene before her was giving her a nagging sense of deja vu, but she couldn’t place it.

 

The faint sound of raised voices reached her ears. Before she could do much besides look at the door, it slammed open and sent scooting back over the floor in surprise. Pain flared in her palm and a hiss escaped her teeth as she scraped her hand on a loose stone. Wiping it on a mostly clean part of her jeans, she looked at the figures who had entered.

 

She squinted, noticing the armor first. Perhaps she had been kidnapped by really dedicated LARPers, though slight dents and scratches suggested otherwise. These people had definitely seen some sort fight, she realized, taking in their mud -and was that blood?- splattered outfits.

 

The people stepped into the other prisoner’s cell, the two important looking ones flanking the kneeling figure. The green light flashed again, along with her sense of deja vu. It was so strong now she almost felt nauseous.

 

One figure, dressed in what looked like dark plate armor began to circle the prisoner. A sickening sense of apprehension dawned on her, she knew why this looked familiar. The figure stepped into the light, and her armor bore a white eye wreathed in flame, pierced by a sword.

 

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now,” she said with an all too familiar accent, and every scrap of plausible deniability dropped out from under Luca.

 

She felt like she was falling again, though the cold beneath her and the pain as she banged her scraped hand told her otherwise.

 

This couldn’t be. _This couldn’t be._ Dragon Age was a video game. A video game with very good graphics, but still _fictional._ Cassandra wasn’t real. The inquisitor- she recognized the glowing green as the Mark now- wasn’t real. Thedas itself wasn’t real, so how could she be here?

 

Her nausea grew when she thought about last night, or what should've been last night, and the green glow she saw. _That’s impossible,_ she thought, _this a dream, nothing more._ Her stinging hand told her otherwise.

 

“You,” a voice, Leliana’s, said and snapped Luca out of her spiral of confusion. A hand grabbed the collar of her jacket, dragging her forward onto her knees.  Distractedly, she realized her shoulderbag was missing, as was her phone.

 

“Who are you,” Leliana said, more of a command than a question. Luca looked up to meet her eyes and felt her thoughts stall, like a train out of fuel. Bright eyes burned with a rage that the game’s graphics couldn’t capture, and blood was splattered along her cheek.

 

“Uhh,” Luca responded, trying to decide if Leliana’s eyes were grey or blue. She kicked her brain into gear when she heard the clanking of Cassandra hauling the Inquisitor to their feet.

 

“I’m Luca, uhh,” she stuttered, trying to decide on a last name, “Trevelyan.”

 

She watched Leliana’s eyes narrow, and figured that she could probably tell she wasn’t being entirely honest. Determined to try and make her story more truthful, she continued and hoped like hell the Inquisitor wasn’t also a Trevelyan.

 

“My, uhh, my sister’s a mage. I - I wanted to know what’s gonna- or what was gonna happen,” she said, stumbling over her words. A quiet, relieved breath escaped her mouth when Leliana let go of her jacket. The feeling quickly disappeared when her tailbone hit the stone floor.

 

Cassandra and Leliana conversed quietly, and it ended with Leliana leaving. With a jolt, Luca realized she must have missed the conversation between Cassandra and the Inquisitor. Sucking in a breath as Cassandra approached her, she was roughly hauled to her feet.

 

Cassandra was taller than she expected, standing about a head taller than her, and just about old enough to be her mother. Perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement, but the general thought was the same. Basically, not quite what the game made her out to be.

 

Luca stumbled over the uneven ground as she was shoved towards the already standing Inquisitor, and just managed to catch herself before stumbling into them. Despite the slightly better lighting in the hallway, she still couldn’t make out much more about said Inquisitor.

 

Their gaze was fixed on the floor, copper hair shielding their face. Unease curled in her stomach as she recognized pointed ears -rotated down and flat against the Inquisitor’s head, rather like a cat- sticking out from the hair. A dalish inquisitor then, and not a defiant one she guessed based on how terrified they looked.

 

Luca felt like she was supposed to be terrified, as that would be the reasonable reaction. Oddly enough, she wasn't. Shock was the likeliest explanation she could come up with. As Cassandra strode past armored guards, leading them up the narrow staircase to the recognizable empty hall of the chantry, Luca felt her remaining doubts about her location fade away.

 

The chantry door was opened with a clang and a screech loud enough to make her wince. The sunlight assaulted her eyes and Luca was painfully reminded of how dim the dungeon was. She heard faint gasp beside her, but she was too enraptured by the Breach to turn and look.

 

When the game described it as a hole in the sky, it didn’t cover the _wrongness_ of it. A swirling vortex of green encircled by angry looking clouds, it pulsed like an infected wound. Looking at it too long made her stomach turn and sent faint whispers skittering around in the back of her mind and down her spine.

 

“We call it the Breach,” Cassandra said, “It’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It’s not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave.”

 

“An explosion can do that?” The Inquisitor spoke up beside her for the first time, his voice cracking. He sounded… different, than in the game. Sure, the voice was similar enough, but he had none of the confidence that Bioware seemed to instill in every player character. Instead he sounded scared. And young- very young. She should probably stop thinking of him as a character.

 

The Mark flared with a snap, interrupting her thoughts and filling the air with ozone-like buzz that raised goosebumps on her arms. With a shock, she realized she must have missed Cassandra’s response - again.

 

 _Come on Luca, get it together,_ she mentally chided herself and dragged herself out of her thoughts to observe the Inquisitor. A pang of - pity? Sympathy? Guilt? Raced through her stomach as she watched him curl around his sparking hand. Knowing what was going to happen in the following years, she didn’t envy him.

 

“Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads” Cassandra stated, just as bluntly as Luca remembered from the game, “and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this but there isn’t much time.”

 

Instead of responding, the Inquisitor sucked in a shaky breath. Before Luca registered what she was doing, she was holding out a hand to the Inquisitor’s hunched form. Cassandra made a pensive, but not quite disapproving, noise behind her. Luca could picture the ‘ _Cassandra slightly approves’_ flag popping up in the corner of her screen.

 

He stilled as she offered her hand, his hair (it looked more gold than copper in proper lighting, she realized) still covering his face. Through it she could make out olive skin that complemented his hair quite nicely, but not much more. Despite this, she knew he had Mythal’s vallaslin, in gold.

 

_Wait, what?_

 

The Inquisitor grabbed her hand before she could process that thought. His grip was hesitant, more unsure than she was expecting and she had to shove several thoughts along the lines of ‘ _Oh my god, I’m actually touching_ the _Inquisitor’_ out of the way. Upon meeting his eyes, she felt thoroughly mind-fucked. There, beneath his eyes, was the delicate golden lines of Mythal’s vallaslin.

 

_How had she known?_

 

Deciding she’d spent enough time staring at his face, she tightened her grip on his hand and hauled him to his feet. It was rather awkward, as one of his arms was still pressed tight to his chest and he was shakier on his feet than she was. She offered what she thought was a reassuring smile but in actuality probably looked like a vaguely nervous grimace, and gently squeezed his hand.

What she was not expecting was for him to offer shaky smile (she could see fear in his eyes) and to squeeze her hand back. And then not let go of it. _There are worse things than holding hands with the Inquisitor._ Not quite sure how to react, she elected for looking back at Cassandra who had remained oddly silent throughout the exchange.

 

“You say it _may_ be the key. To doing what?” The Inquisitor spoke up beside her. His voice cracked again, but otherwise he sounded less shaky.

 

“Closing the Breach. Whether that’s possible is something we shall discover shortly. It is our only chance, however. And yours,” Cassandra answered and Luca had to bite her lip to stop from mouthing the words along with her.

 

“I- I understand,” said the Inquisitor.

 

“Then…?”

 

“Then I’ll do what I can,” he finished.

 

Luca’s brain stumbled momentarily at the slight deviation from the game’s script. She chided herself again, of course things would be different, what was she expecting? She was here, after all, and she definitely didn’t play a game with herself in it.

 

Cassandra nodded towards the village, “Then let us go.”

 

The Inquisitor looked like he might be sick, but he nodded and took an uncertain step forwards and finally dropped Luca’s hand. He and Cassandra looked back with varying levels of emotion when she made no move to follow them. Lavellan looked uncomfortable, like he didn’t want to be alone with Cassandra. Cassandra, for her part, looked annoyed.

 

 _Oh crap,_ she was supposed to go with them. _Oh crap,_ there were going to be demons, and Varric and Solas- and _oh crap,_ she knew basically what was going to happen, which would definitely be _very_ suspicious and _very_ incriminating if anyone found out.

 

Looks like her lack of fear was just shock after all. Now that her disbelief had worn off, a pit of apprehension (it was fear, but she was too dignified to call it that) was steadily building in her stomach. Or perhaps it was hunger, considering it had been late evening when she left and now it was late morning at the earliest.

 

A disapproving huff from Cassandra sends Luca scurrying towards the pair. Being on the receiving end of her annoyance hurt a lot more than watching the ‘ _Cassandra Disapproves’_ flag pop up the corner of the screen. She took a moment to remind herself that these people don’t know her, obviously, and despite the fact that she knew incredibly personal things about most of the people she was going to meet from playing the game so many times, friendships would have to start from scratch.

 

The Inquisitor inched closer to her as they walked through what could be considered the main street of Haven. The villagers looked more openly hostile than she remembered, or perhaps it was Bioware’s graphics. She was glad they weren’t shouting, she didn't think she could handle that right now, even if she wouldn’t be their target. A particularly nasty glare aimed at her had her questioning the validity of her earlier statement.

 

“They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead.”

 

She thought she saw Lavellan flinch, but he covered it well enough that she couldn’t be sure.

 

Haven was much larger than she pictured from the game. With a quick glance back at the chantry, she noticed it was almost hidden by trees and a section of the mountain. _It looks more like the layout from Origins,_ she thought, looking at the long, sloping pathways and intricate wood buildings.

 

She stumbled on an icy patch of ground and swallowed back an unexpected wave of emotion when she heard some snickers from the crowd. The gates were visible over Cassandra’s shoulder, so close yet agonizingly far away at the pace they were walking at.

 

Upon escaping the assembled crowd, she felt herself relax. Beside her, Lavellan let out a soft breath of relief. The path was longer than she remembered, walled in by a rocky outcropping and thick trees. She could just barely make out the gate over Cassandra’s shoulder, towering over the surrounding trees. Her apprehension continued to build, thinking about how easily Corypheus’s army crushed Haven. She shook those thoughts away, with any luck she wouldn’t be here to deal with that.

 

She knew that was a lie, but thinking about getting home was something to be done during the three days Lavellan was going to spend unconscious. That is, if the plot stayed the same and they all didn’t get eaten by demons first. She watched the breach hiss and spit and swirl in the sky, and thought the latter was becoming more likely.

 

“We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the breach is sealed,” Cassandra said, her return to the script making Luca a slight bit less nervous. “There will be a trial. I can promise no more,” Cassandra finished, looking at the both of them. “Come. It is not far.”

 

 _The both of them,_ Luca realized, and felt her nausea return with the realization that she must have fallen through the rift as well. Which meant she was also being blamed for the conclave. Looking at her hands, (muddy, scraped, shaking - and _plain_ ) she swallowed. She had no rift-closing mark that made her too important to execute. Biting down on her lip as she trailed after Lavellan and Cassandra, she tried to think of a plan and backstory that wouldn’t result in imprisonment, torture or death.

 

“Where are we going?” Lavellan asked as soldiers tugged the gates open, just enough for the three of them to walk through single file. The gates were thicker than she expected, and much heavier looking. The red flags mounted at the top snapped in the wind.

 

The bridge was…. much more of a mess than she was expecting. What she assumed were supply boxes were scattered along the sides, along with various sacks. A half-hearted attempt at a barricade had been formed at the bridge’s end. A half-empty weapons rack and a few burnt out torches littered the opposite side as well.

 

It was like the game, she noticed, except altogether more worn and blood-splattered. She tried her best to ignore the sheet-covered corpses (they were _everywhere)_  and distressed praying, feeling slightly guilty for the amount of times she’d rushed through this scene. She spared a second to squeeze her eyes closed and pull herself together, _don’t think about the dead people, it’s just sheets- just sheets._ Glancing over at Lavellan, she thought he might be sick, or cry, or both.

 

Only a few of the soldiers looked up as they passed, wearing only resignation and exhaustion on their faces. Somehow, that felt worse than open disdain. Luca focused her gaze on the toes of her boots as they clicked against the grey stone of the bridge. She really wasn’t dressed for the occasion, she noted, taking in her muddy jeans, bomber jacket and boots that were more for decoration than functionality.

 

Even Lavellan has a couple of thin metal plates under what looked like a fairly thick coat and scarf. She clenched her teeth as the heel of her boot skidded on an icy patch of stone. If was she was going to be stuck here for a while, a better pair of boots was at the top of her list. Eyeing the fur lining Lavellan’s boots, she almost walked into Cassandra who had paused to let the soldiers push back the attempted barricade and open the gates.

 

The path was steeper than she was used to, though it was mostly clear of snow. The walk was eerily quiet, Luca couldn’t hear any birds or wildlife, or even any combat. Only the crunch of boots on frozen earth. She was struck by a sudden longing for home, and for her friends, and the cat she didn’t yet have (but was saving up for). Even a cup of shitty coffee would nice. She bit down on her lip, determined not to cry in front of the Inquisitor, and certainly not Cassandra.

 

“So, what’s your name?” She said, unable to stand the silence any longer and needing a distraction to stave off the approaching tears. It took the Inquisitor a moment to realize she was talking to him, and she desperately hoped he wouldn’t leave her hanging. Conflicting emotions flickered over his face, too fast for her to decipher.

 

“...Hallavhenlin,” he answered slowly, “But I go by Hana.”

 

Luca knew why she knew him.

 

She managed to choke out a smile and some semblance of a ‘ _nice to meet you_ ,’ before returning to her existential crisis. Hana Lavellan was the name of her most recent Inquisitor, a dalish rogue who romanced (or planned to romance) Dorian. She had only just gotten to Skyhold on that playthrough, before school and work had gotten especially busy. That had been a few weeks ago, and when she did have time to play DA:I again she had opted to finish her Trevelyan playthrough instead.

 

A faint tug on the sleeve of her jacket dragged her from her thoughts- she should probably stop spacing out, she told herself. Wasn’t that a sign of shock, or something? She glanced over at the Inquisitor, (Hana, she reminded herself) who was looking at her expectantly.

 

“Sorry, what?”

 

“I, uhh- What’s your name?” He looked like he wanted to say more, but closed his mouth rather quickly when Cassandra glanced back.

 

“Oh, sorry, didn’t hear you,” she said, resolving to focus more on her surroundings. Hana looked nervous enough already without having to repeat himself. “My name’s Luca- Trevelyan,” she said, tripping over the unfamiliar last name. Every time she repeated it she felt a little more like one of those cringeworthy fangirls from 2008, and she desperately hoped it worked in her favor. Then at least, she wouldn’t have to feel like a fool.

 

“From the Free Marshes?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.

 

She nodded, trying to think if the Wikia had mentioned anything about where the Trevelyan estate was. If it had, she didn’t remember it. Fuck.

 

“Interesting,” Hana said, and the conversation lapsed into silence as both of them were distracted by the spiked barricades. Luca sped up a bit so she was closer to Cassandra. The woman scared her a little (more than a little), but she did have a sword and looked awfully prepared to use it. She frowned, slightly, _when did the demons first show up?_ Was it after meeting Chancellor Roderick? She thought so.

 

At the sound of footsteps, she glanced over Cassandra’s shoulder. The men ran down the hill, blood splattered with black and green dripping from their armor and weapons. Luca just barely managed to jump out of the way, but her boots slipped on trail and she was deposited firmly on her ass.

 

“Maker, It’s the end of the world!” Shouted the leading one as he raced past.

 

Luca could see the sheer terror in his eyes and scooted backwards to avoid the mud their boots kicked up. Her hand touched something sticky, and she closed her eyes, fighting a wave of revulsion. Without looking, she wiped her hand on the nearest patch of snow and pushed herself to her feet. She fought the urge to look back at whatever she touched and instead hurried to catch up with Cassandra, who hadn’t stopped to wait.

 

The carnage got worse as they climbed. As much as she tried not to look, she couldn’t help but count the bodies as they passed. A mage, two templars, something (someone) on fire. They had to pick their way through the shattered remains of a wagon, which took them far too close to the edge of the cliff for Luca’s liking. When she noticed something that looked ominously like crispy human organs, she swallowed her nausea and distracted Hana with a pat on the shoulder. He had no need to see that- he’d be seeing plenty of it later.  

 

As they reached the top, Hana cried out in pain and Luca tried to catch him as he crumpled to the ground. Unfortunately she had to pull back before her boots slipped again and she ended up face first in bloody dirt. Cassandra was there instead, catching his arm before he could hunch over completely. She hauled him none too gently to his feet.

 

“The pulses are coming faster now. The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face,” she said, glancing at the vortex in the sky.

 

“How _did_ I survive the blast?” Hana asked, still holding his glowing hand close to his chest.

 

That was a good question, thought Luca. She’d like to know how she got here and what mysterious circumstances surrounded her own arrival. Maybe it’d be something cool.

 

“They said you… stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious. They say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was. Everything farther in the valley was laid waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I suppose you’ll see soon enough.”

 

Hana looked vaguely nauseous, “Everything?” he whispered, barely more than empty breath.

 

Cassandra didn’t respond and instead continued on. Luca could make out the stone walls of a second bridge, and quickened her steps to catch up with Cassandra. After a few seconds of waiting to be acknowledged and receiving nothing more than a glance, Luca bit her lip and chimed in.

 

“So uhh, what happened to me? How did I survive?”

 

“We… we do not know. They say you were found unconscious near the Temple. It is a mystery, they say the others in the area were killed by the blast. Turned to ash,” Cassandra replied.

 

Luca thought she could’ve gone without knowing that last bit. Though, as far as ways to tumble into Thedas, hers wasn’t bad. A bit of mystery was good- if nobody else knew, she couldn’t be called on things she made up. She was a little disappointed at the lack of special powers or newly discovered magic, or some other mystical skill. Guess things like that only happened in movies or bad fanfiction, she thought, and she looked down at her muddy fingers.

 

“So, what about my stuff?” She said, looking back up at Cassandra. Everyone else better not be so tall, or she’d end up with a crick in her neck.

 

“Your... stuff?” Cassandra echoed, looking rather suspicious. Luca made the universal gesture for ‘bag.’ Apparently it really was universal after all, Luca thought as Cassandra replied, “Ah, your things. You would best ask Leliana about that.”

 

Luca bit down on a sigh and fell back to walk beside Hana. She wasn’t really expecting anything different, but she had hoped to avoid an encounter with the Spymaster until Skyhold. A bit of wagon debris caught the toe of her boot, and she stumbled with a curse. New boots were definitely on the list. Or perhaps she was just clumsy. She guessed it was probably the latter, but she still wanted new boots. A fur lining was sounding pretty nice right about now, as she paused to make sure she could still move her cold toes.

 

As she took in the soldiers standing on the other end of the approaching bridge, she was hit by another wave of deja vu. She was beginning to associate that feeling with something important happening. Since Chancellor Roderick was nowhere in sight, she strained to remember what this important thing could be. Cassandra strode forward, her boots clacking on the stone. Hana and Luca weren’t far behind. They’d just about reached the middle when Luca remembered. _Demons. That means-_

 

Something pulsing with green light slammed into the bridge.

 

_Fuck._

 

Turns out being flung from a collapsing bridge hurts a lot more in practice than in theory. Luca groaned and pulled her head off the ice just in time to watch a second meteor splatter black and green on the ice. Cassandra drew her sword as a creature made of dripping black sinews and tattered cloth clawed its way out of the puddle. Luca shoved herself off the ice, cursing at the slipperiness and the pounding in her head.

 

Hana was already on his feet, though he looked quite like a deer caught in the headlights. She followed his gaze and cursed again. A second splatter had formed, and there was already a clawed hand working its way out of the ice. It was just one, she thought to herself as she frantically looked for the weapons that were supposed to be there. Two against one were pretty good odds. A second hand joined the first, and she felt a little less sure of herself.

 

 _There!_ She jolted herself into motion, stumbling as the world spun. Shaking her head to clear the fuzziness from her vision, she grabbed Hana’s arm and dragged him towards the mess of weapons on the ice. The neatly lined up weapons had always seemed a bit too convenient to her, but she regretted taking them for granted as she took in the scattered and broken weapons and crates.

 

 _Okay_ , she thought, _you did fencing in high school and you were pretty good, how hard can this be?_ The answer was apparently very hard, as she grabbed for a sword. It was lighter than she was expecting, but she still couldn’t wield it one handed like she would in fencing. Knowing she would be worse than useless with it, she reluctantly put it down, surprised by the unexpected comfort it brought her.

 

Beside her, Hana had found a serviceable set of daggers. He looked less terrified with a weapon in hand, she wished she could say the same. A roar, or what passed for a roar had her scrambling backwards as the shade dragged itself from the ice and writhed towards them. Towards her. Cursing, she glanced around for just about any weapon and her eyes fell upon a mage’s staff. She grabbed it, the hope that her fall into Thedas has given her magic burning in her mind.  

 

The shade lunged forward, and she swung the staff as hard as she could, trying her best to keep her eyes open. Nothing flashy happened, and the staff connected with the creature’s head.The impact was solid and sent jolts up her arms and down her spine. There was too much adrenaline in her system to be disappointed about the lack of magic. The shade lurched sideways, claws scraping on ice as it tried to regain its balance. She backed up, clutching the staff tighter as she tried not to stumbled over the debris behind her.

 

Before the shade could lunge again, Hana darted in, scoring a quick _one-two_ hit on the shade’s left side. Black goo spurted from the wound, splattering Hana’s face and chest. The shade howled and clawed at Hana’s arm in recompense. Luca didn’t see if the shade actually managed to hit the elf, instead she used the opportunity to hit the creature again. It was less effective that she thought and didn’t really do anything except attract the creature’s attention.

 

The shade lunged and she tried to pull the staff up to hit it again, but the shade was too close. The staff got trapped between their bodies, though it did deflect the creature’s claws from her throat to her cheek. That was nice, though it still _hurt like a motherfucker_. She squinted to see through the tears blurring her vision and met the shade’s single glowing eye. Despite its brightness, it was so empty and full of hate that she felt the hair raising on her arms and her throat dry up.

 

A flash of blades and the shade slumped forward. It splashed her chest and arms with blood as it slithered back into the ice, leaving a bubbling smudge of green. She glanced over at Hana, who was still in a fighting stance and equally bloodied. Both of them were breathing hard, though Luca had a feeling it was Hana’s turn to look more put together.

 

She pulled the staff close to her chest, feeling sick at the stickiness clinging to her hands and face. Her cheek still burned, though she was reluctant to touch it. She didn’t really want to know how bad it was. Her hands felt a little shaky. Hana let a sigh whistle through his teeth when the shade didn’t reappear. They turned back to Cassandra in time to watch her slice the remaining shade in half.

 

“It’s over,” Hana said, his voice cracking with relief.

 

Cassandra turned, looking murderous. _Oh right,_ Luca thought, as Cassandra stormed towards them and leveled her sword.

 

“Drop your weapon. _Now!”_

 

Luca dropped the staff with a clatter and raised her hands above her head. Hana’s eyes widened, and he pulled the daggers up to his chest.

 

“I- But- I need-” He stuttered, pulling the weapons closer, until the hilts touched his chest and the points were just barely resting on his hip.

 

Cassandra sighed. “You’re right. I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenseless,” she shook her head. “I should remember that you agreed to come willingly.”

 

She sheathed her sword, which prompted Hana to do the same, albeit hesitantly. Luca picked up her staff and clutched it nervously, since she had nowhere to put it. She glanced up at Cassandra detached something from her belt.

 

“Take these potions. Maker knows what we will face,” she said, handing each of them two startlingly red potions. Hana easily clipped his to his belt, after taking a sip of one.

 

If Luca had been any less terrified or sore, she would have been bouncing around with excitement. _Actual healing potions,_ she thought, looking at the glittering bottles in her hand. She wasn’t wearing a belt, so she slipped the potions into her jacket pocket and hoped she wouldn’t fall on them. Her hand brushed a crumpled piece of paper, probably an old shopping list, and a few coins.

 

“Where are all your soldiers?” Hana asked, adjusting his belt and the daggers on his back.

 

“At the forward camp, or fighting,” Cassandra replied, “We are on our own, for now.”

 

At this, Cassandra set off along the frozen river, seemingly unbothered by the lack of a proper path. Luca kept up as best she could, but her knee was beginning to ache something fierce and her cheek still stung. Hana caught her eye and tapped the healing potions on his belt. _Oh yeah._ She pulled one out of her pocket, and uncorked it after a moment’s hesitation.

 

It immediately filled her senses with a cloying, sickly feeling, like she had to sneeze. She corked the bottle again, feeling one sip was probably enough. After swallowing a few times, the feeling was mostly gone, as was the bitter aftertaste. Her face and knee were tingling, and she felt her right eye tearing up again.

 

She wiped her eye and felt a little faint when her palm came back smeared with blood. No wonder Hana had recommended a potion. A mildly hysterical laugh bubbled up in her chest, but she swallowed it down. She could have a breakdown later, during the time when the Herald would be unconscious.

 

There were a couple of bodies scattered at the top of the hill, along with what looked like elfroot. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hana pick something up off one of the bodies. Swallowing her nausea, she made her way over to the other one and sure enough, she spotted what looked like a coin pouch. Screwing up her eyes, she grabbed it and tugged until it came loose. Her eyes were watering again, this time at the smell of death. She was completely unprepared, and nearly retched.

 

“There! Watch out!”

 

Slipping the pouch in her other pocket to examine later, she caught up to Hana and Cassandra, who were crouched at the hill’s peak. There were more black and green splatters on the ice, which meant demons. She pulled a few leaves off the nearest elfroot plant and stuffed those in her pocket too, just in case. Cassandra moved forward, sliding down the hill to engage the shades.

 

“If we flank them, we may gain an advantage!” Cassandra called back as she drew her sword.

 

Hana drew his daggers and slid down the slope after her. Luca bit her lip, and after only a moment’s hesitation, joined them.

 

Shades were harder to whack into submission than she thought, as she smacked at the snarling creature. Her arms were getting sore and her shoulders has started to burn. Despite the fact that she was quite sure a human would not be moving after getting hit this many times, the creature continued chasing her until Cassandra’s sword put an end to it.

 

“You use a mage’s staff, but you do not use magic,” Cassandra said, and Luca forced herself to meet her eyes.

 

“Uhh yeah, I-” She paused, trying to think of something that wouldn’t make her seem useless. Which meant lying, Luca mentally crossed her fingers and hoped her persuasion was high enough to make the cut. “I didn’t have the chance to pick up a better weapon.”

 

Cassandra narrowed her eyes, but seemed to accept the answer. Luca would deal her lies later, when she was in less danger of being executed or let to demons. She noticed Hana take another sip of potion, and decided she had time to check the corpses. This time she held her breath when pulling another pouch loose, and retreated quickly. She still ended up coughing at the stink, earning a look from Cassandra.

 

The river was slippery underfoot, but the other two seemed to be doing just fine so Luca bit back her complaints. Thedas was a lot less fun than she imagined, yet she was still glad as hell she’d been dropped into DA:I rather than Origins or some shit. As cool as the wardens were, she would last approximately 20 minutes around darkspawn. Cassandra drawing her sword had Luca clutching her staff and looking around.

 

Stairs, bodies and demons. She was beginning to know what to expect.

 

“Up on the hill! It attacks from a distance!” Cassandra shouted.

 

 _Wraiths_ , she thought, as world exploded in green. The world spun, and her tongue felt like a dead animal. She only kept her feet because of her staff, planted as firmly as she could on the ice. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the urge to pass out or vomit or both away as best she could. Opening her eyes, the world ceased to spin long enough for her to give the approaching shade a solid thump with her staff.

 

It still wasn’t very effective, but it did provide Hana a good opportunity to slice the creature to bits.

 

|  |  |

 

They continued in this fashion for a while, only pausing once for Luca to throw up by the side of the path. Watching Cassandra fold her shredded skin back into place and take a potion like a shot was too much.

 

Luca was very tired of demons. She was tired in general actually, but especially of demons. Her mouth tasted like vomit, her arms hurt, and now she was staring up at the longest staircase she’d seen today. To make it worse, Cassandra was barely breathing heavy. At least Hana looked tired, though he was still probably in much better shape than she was.

 

“We’re getting close to the rift. You can hear the fighting,” Cassandra said, as they climbed.

 

Luca was too out of breath to respond, though her spirits did improve. She was looking forward to meeting Varric and Solas-

 

_Shit._

 

She’d finished Trespasser a few months ago. Solas was Fen’Harel, apparently the asshole of elvhen pantheon. Knowing herself, she’d probably be scared of the guy anyway so at least she wouldn’t have to pretend it wasn’t because he was a thousand year old god who could probably kill them all.

 

At least she’d probably get along with Varric.

 

“Who’s fighting?” Hana asked, narrowing his eyes.

 

“You’ll see soon. We must help them,” Cassandra said, increasing the pace.

 

“Mysterious,” Luca grumbled, even though she knew exactly who they were going to meet. It fit the mood, and she watched to be a part of the conversation. Cassandra huffed, and Luca sighed as she visualized the ‘Cassandra slightly disapproves’ flag.

 

They reached the top, and Luca slipped on the snow. She used her staff to catch herself, the thing was handier than she thought. A glance to her right and she got her first look at a rift. _It whispered_. That was freaky, but the Breach whispered too so she guessed it wasn’t uncommon when dealing with fade shit.

 

Hana and Cassandra raced forward, leaving Luca to scurry along behind. With all this running she’d be in better shape than Finn. When she jumped into the fray (perhaps slid down the wall and hovered on the outskirts would be more correct, but the thought remains the same), she briefly caught- holy shit, was that Solas?- his eye, or at least her staff did. Right, only mages carried staffs.

 

With at least two functioning fighters as reinforcements, the shades were soon defeated.

 

“Quickly,” Solas shouted, “before more come through!”

 

Hana looked terrified again, glancing between the rift and Solas with obvious confusion. Luca guessed having a stranger shouting at you would be pretty terrifying, no matter the context. Solas grabbed Hana’s wrist, the latter trying in vain to tug his arm free, and raised it to the rift.

 

The rift closed with a snap, leaving a silence that not even the faint murmurs of the Breach could fill.

 

“What did you do?” Hana asked, suspicion coloring his tone as he tugging his arm free and close to his chest.

 

“ _I_ did nothing. The credit is yours,” Solas said. If Luca hasn’t spent most of her life in the midwest, she would’ve said he drawled. He sure was a smug bastard, she thought, looking him over for the first time.

 

He was tall, and terrifying. But so was everyone else, so the effect was lessened. He has a grace, and a sharpness about him- even knowing the whole story, Luca couldn’t really call it wolfish, he was much too clever to let any part of his secret show. She could see why so many fangirls were into this guy. _You have the chance, why not take it?_ Her brain whispered. _After all, everybody else can only dream of something like this happening._

 

She firmly slammed the door on those thoughts. _No Luca,_ she told herself, _that’s gross. He’s like three thousand and you’re twenty-one._

 

“I … did that?” Hana replied, apparently done with his moment of shocked silence.

 

“Nice,” she chimed, regretting it when everyone’s eyes found her. Thankfully, Solas continued.

 

“Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake – and it seems I was correct,” Solas said.

 

“Meaning it could also close the Breach itself,” Cassandra said, her eyes brightening.

 

“Possibly,” Solas said, before turning to face Hana. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.”

 

His eyes flickered over to her once, but other than she remained unacknowledged- which honestly, was fine by her.

 

“Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever,” a familiar voice dragged her attention to the fifth member of the assembled company. Varric approached, slinging Bianca over his shoulder to her place on his back.

 

“Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong,” he said, with a wink at Cassandra. She noticed with a short burst of warmth that he was looking at the two of them, her and Hana. Perhaps friendships would not be so hopeless after all.

 

“Nice crossbow,” she said, unable to help herself.

 

“Ah, isn’t she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together,” he said, patting the crossbow.

 

“You named your crossbow Bianca?” Hana said, managing to sound both skeptical and confused.

 

“Of course. And she’ll be great company in the valley.”

 

Cassandra made a noise- Luca didn’t know her well enough to place the emotion it carried, “Absolutely not. Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…”

 

“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me,” Varric said. Luca could almost taste the sarcasm.

 

The next noise Cassandra made was obviously full of disgust.

 

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I’m pleased to see you still live,” Solas broke the tension by introducing himself. Still talking mainly to Hana, but she did get a nod this time.

 

Hana blushed and dipped his head. Luca felt her stomach sink a little bit. _Oh no,_ she thought. Of all the people Hana had to fall for, it had to be the eggman. No, that’s unfair- a stanger he just met is complimenting him, blushing is perfectly reasonable. They haven’t met Dorian or Josephine yet either, Luca reminded herself, he still has a chance to fall for someone closer to his own age.

 

_How old is Hana anyway?_

 

“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept,’” Varric cut in, and Hana looked briefly surprised.

 

“Oh? Thank you ha’hren,” he said, with a quick dip of his head.

 

“Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process.”

 

|  |  |

 

Luca was not having a good day. This has been established as soon as she woke up in a grimy dungeon at Haven, but her day was especially bad now. After what felt like hours of slaughtering demons, she and Hana were thoroughly chewed out by Chancellor Roderick, put on the spot, then threatened some more.

 

On the upside, she had convinced Hana to take the mountain path, which meant less rifts. On the downside, mountains meant climbing and cold. After trudging through slushy snow, mud and no shortage of demon goo, Luca was fed up with anything that meant movement. A long sigh slipped between her teeth when she thought of the pride demon at the end of this trek. Only the screech of demons on the distance stopped her from lying down on the spot.

 

If she thought her arms ached earlier, she was mistaken. Luca was half-convinced that she had pulled just about every muscle between her fingertips and lower back. Her palms throbbed (especially the scraped one from earlier) and her fingers ached from the glorified walking stick. Plus she had to pee. Not badly, thankfully, but enough to be annoying.

 

The ladders at been a challenge with her staff. She was very tempted to leave it, and she would have if the thought of being unarmed had been any less terrifying. In the end, she had settled for jamming it up the back of her jacket. It bumped the back of her head a few times, but she and it got up the ladder just fine.

 

Totally worth it, if only the look of surprise that crossed Solas’s and Varric’s face the first time she hit a demon with it. Of course, the demon had then proceeded to claw her shoulder open, which sent her to the floor with a scream. Eventually she remembered her healing potions, and downed the rest of the one she opened earlier.

 

She hadn’t looked at her shoulder since, but she was fairly certain the bleeding had stopped. Therefore, worth it. She pointedly ignored her shaking hand and white-knuckled grip on her staff. The others did too, and she was glad for that.

 

The mine was creepy. Outside the torchlight, the abandoned hallways were as dark as the void. She swore she could hear things moving in the darkness, but as the others did nothing but move slightly faster, she guessed (hoped) it was nothing to worry about. If she held on to Hana’s shoulder for part of it, well, that was between them.

 

She wasn’t much help saving the scouts, still light-headed from the healing potion, and her blows with the staff were getting weaker and even less effective. She guessed it was only a matter of time until her palms started bleeding. Or maybe they already were, she was in no hurry to check.

 

At least the scouts were more grateful than Roderick, the bastard. She even got thanked, for once. Even if she couldn’t do much more than lean on her staff and nod, it was still nice.

 

After more stairs, Luca felt like she was going to pass out. _So this is what passing out actually feels like,_ she thought to herself with a mental laugh, thinking back to her arrival in Thedas. She took a small sip of her remaining health potion, hoping it would rejuvenate her at least a little.

 

It worked well enough to keep her on her feet, so she joined the rest of the party at the top of the final staircase. And promptly had to sit down. The temple- if it could even be called that- lay in a crater. The whole thing radiated an aura of wrongness, and she could pick out the charred corpses from where she was sitting.

 

It seemed everyone else was equally stunned, even Cassandra, who had (assumedly) seen it before.

 

The moment was broken a flare from the Breath, a sickly green flash that tasted like ozone and sent whispers swirling in her mind. From the expressions the others wore, it was the same for them. Except for Varric, who seemed immune to fade shit.

 

Hana pulled her to her feet, and the party descended into the temple.

 

|  |  |

 

Luca wanted to go home. The temple had been horrible- she had thrown up again, and no matter where she looked there were always more bodies. The lyrium had been horrible- pulsing red like decayed muscle and singing, albeit faintly, and it made her head fuzzy and the walls seem too close. The pride demon had been horrible- it was huge and had too many teeth, and looked like it was covered in rocky, purple and white mold. Chunks of something thick and slimy kept falling from cracks in its rocky armor.

 

She had hit it twice with her staff before getting a face full of a voltage high enough to send her to the ground for most of the fight. She had settled for hitting (more like tapping at this point) shades until they stopped paying attention to downed soldiers and went after her instead. Which wasn’t her brightest plan, but the archers took them down fast enough when she started running towards them.

 

The rift was closed, or at least she thought so. The spiky green part had disappeared, leaving only the Breach swirling in the sky above. Lying on her back, she had a pretty good view of the vortex. Hana was on the ground beside her, thoroughly passed out after closing the rift. He’d fallen, and for once she’d managed to catch him. He was heavier than she expected, and they both sank to the floor. Neither had moved since.

 

She should probably drink the rest of her healing potion. Her fingers twitched, squelching uncomfortably against the mess of demon goo and blood on the ground. Shame, she had liked this jacket.

 

Cassandra’s face appeared in her vision, which was clearer than she expected.

 

“Come, we have much to do,” she said, her tone not any less commanding, despite the fatigue clear in her eyes.

 

Luca merely blinked in response, only half processing the words.

 

Cassandra sighed, “There a preparations to be made. He needs a healer,” she nodded to Hana, “A room will be found for you, and your things will be returned, if Leliana deems it appropriate. But first we must leave this place,” she continued, her voice softening slightly near the end.

 

That… sounded like a pretty good reason to get up. She wanted her things back, and sleep was sounding better than all of heaven. Cassandra offered a hand.

  

Luca took it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're just going to ignore the fact that in game, Cassandra doesn't cut the Herald's bonds until after they exit Haven. that happened earlier, because i am the author and i say so.
> 
> wow, you can actually see my progression into laziness.
> 
> so! it took me like 3 months but i updated! finally! maybe the next one will take less time (haha)


	3. there's a long road ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> update! after another 3 months! I'm sensing a theme
> 
> this is short, sorry, but important. we'll get back to some proper dragon age stuff next chapter, i promise

The room is not much larger than perhaps an oversized closet, and certainly not fit to house the number of bunks crammed against the old wooden walls. It’s empty at the moment, and most of the bunks have neatly tucked in sheets. A few beds, especially bottom bunks, have papers pinned to the walls and knapsacks or trunks shoved underneath the rickety frames.

 

The most notable bed is tucked into the corner, furthest away from the door. It belonged to a soldier, but as his death was confirmed in the explosion of the Breach, it nows belongs to the stranger who arrived on the heels of the Herald.

 

A blood-stained jacket is spread near the footboard, and a leather bag along with a mage’s staff are pushed as far towards the wall as possible. A strange journal has been left open on the bed, and the lined paper is covered with strangely light charcoal writing.

 

 

 

> _This is wild, absolutely wild. I still can’t believe it isn’t a dream, I ~~almost wish it was~~ but seeing as I spent half the day in the med-tent, almost bleeding out, I feel like pinching myself would be redundant_ _._ _My shoulder still hurts, but this elfroot stuff really works. Just, maybe not quite as well as the games. It also takes heckin weird, like too sweet but bitter at the same time. eugh._
> 
> _I got a bunk, which is nice, but I also had to clear out some dead guy’s personal effects which is not nice. I didn’t cry, but I did feel kinda sick. I might still be in shock, and will definitely not come out of this perfectly fine- Fingers crossed I dodge PTSD._
> 
> _I’m not sure how I’m going to get home. If I’m being completely honest, I’ve read enough of those ‘modern character in whatever’ fics to know that the character doesn’t get sucked back into the breach after redcliff. I've never actually read a finished fic where the character gets home. I guess maybe I could ask dorian to look into it whenever he shows up?_ _If i live that long_ _But we’ll see, I guess. Not going home just sounds so … unimaginable._
> 
> _On the bright side, I got all my stuff back! Somehow. I don’t think I’ve ever done that much bullshitting in my life. This is all gonna blow up as soon as Leliana even slightly checks out the Trevelyan family, but that’s a bridge I’ll burn when I get to it. My sketchbooks were all looked through, thank god it was only my class one and the new one. My old ones are full of sci-fi and dragon-age shit that i’d’ve had no way to explain. I haven’t turned my phone on yet, I’m not even sure it’ll work, I’ll do that later. My inhaler looks fine, and I’ll have enough mechanical pencils to last me a while. It always pays to be overprepared._
> 
> _Haven is a lot colder than I expected- it hasn’t really been too much of a problem yet, as I’ve only been here for a couple of days, I think. I’m still not sure how long I was_ ~~_unconcious_~~ ~~_unconsious_~~ _unconscious in the cell or dungeon or whatever. I’ve mostly been hanging around in the chantry (which is w i l d!) and the inquisitor’s hut. He’s the only one here that doesn’t scare me- at least he’s supposed to wake up tomorrow, if the game sticks to the proper schedule. I’m gonna need a new coat or something, and maybe a knife and some potions or armor. I found a couple of coins from the bodies, and this ring. It looks pretty plain, I hope it’s not a wedding band._
> 
>  
> 
> _l ~~ist of things~~_ ~~ _possessions_~~ ~~_stuff?_~~ _Stuff I Have_
> 
> _-a couple of silver coins (silvers?)_
> 
> _-a plain ring, maybe iron_
> 
> _-my back (3 notebooks, 4 pencils, inhaler, phone + charger, keys, pepperspray, headphones and gum)_
> 
> _-a mages staff_
> 
> _-half of an elfroot potion + a few elfroot (?) leaves_
> 
>  
> 
> _~~What i~~ _ _Stuff I Need_
> 
> _-new clothes and shoes_
> 
> _-a knife_
> 
> _-more potions_
> 
> _-money_
> 
> ~~_-allies, friends?_ ~~
> 
> _-food_
> 
>  
> 
> _Maybe I can find some odd jobs to do around haven for a couple coins, and sell that ring. I’d feel kinda bad about it, but I can deal with that if it means I can eat something besides the flavorless regulation slop. Surely that alchemist dude would want some elfroot or other plants. And the quartermaster chick, thrawn? No, Thrass? No, those are star wars. Thrask? Tbh i don’t really care. I’ll take my phone too, and maybe i’ll get the chance to turn it on without anyone noticing._
> 
> _It was late November when I left? Was teleported away? Maybe the 27th or so. I guess that would make it between the 29th or 1st of december. No idea what date it is here._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _-L. Armistead_

 

 

**|   |   |**

 

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Ayyy luca did i have english homework?

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Luuuuca

 

**[Missed Call From: Finn Williams]**

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Luca it's literally 8:30 there's no way you're asleep already

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

you live on that phone, stop dissociating and pay attention to me 

 

**[Missed Call From: Finn Williams]**

 

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: the NERD herd]**

@luca i WILL shame u into responding

 

**[From: Grant R.]**

**[To: the NERD herd]**

oooooh someone's in trouble

 

**[From: Dom]**

**[To: the NERD herd]**

CALLED OUT

 

**[Grant R. changed the chat name to @luca why this]**

 

**[From: BAE <33 (Alley)]**

**[To: @luca why this]**

Don't you guys have homework or something

 

**[From: Grant R.]**

**[To: @luca why this]**

yeah probably, i'll do it later tho

 

 

**[From: Finn Williams]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

No seriously dude, respond. it's been 2 hours and it's monday

You're worrying me

 

**[Missed Call From: Finn Williams]**

 

**[From: BAE <33 (Alley)]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

Finn's worried, he's called me 6 times in the past 10 minutes

you okay?

 

**[Missed Call From: BAE <33 (Alley)]**

 

**[Missed Call From: Finn Williams]**

 

**[From: BAE <33 (Alley)]**

**[To: Lucas Armistead]**

please text us as soon as you can, we're worried.

Finn said we have to wait 24 hours to call the police

Come home safe luca, we love you

 

 

_NO SERVICE_

_message not sent. resend as text message?_

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: BAE <33 (Alley) & Finn Williams]**

           I'm okay guys, don't worry. you won't believe this, i'm in thedas! its w i l d, 

           you'd love it. everyone's like 3x as scary and everything kinda smells like

           burnt, but the inquisitor! plus @alley cassandra is super hot

 

_NO SERVICE_

_message not sent. resend as text message?_

 

**[From: Lucas Armistead]**

**[To: BAE <33 (Alley) & Finn Williams]**

           I miss you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was a formatting NIGHTMARE my god why do I do this to myself
> 
> hmu with those comments, they get things done faster i promise.


End file.
